Beckham will improve the infield defense, which will help the pitchers. Robin will be able to use Keppinger more as a super-sub and pinch hitter, strengthening the bench.

The pitching has been superb.

The weather is improving and yesterday's warning track flies with RISP will become tomorrow's three-run homers. This is how the Sox offense has been since 2000, and especially since the Cell was renovated.

Maybe Dunn going back to his Nationals-era swing will see a return to Nationals-era production? I'll take a .250 average and and .850 OPS from this point forward.

Rios has avoided his typical "odd year slump." He's the best #3 hitter we've had since Jermaine Dye.

Things have gone as bad as possible with the hitting. It is fair to expect they will "progress to the mean."

__________________The universe is the practical joke of the General at the expense of the Particular, quoth Frater Perdurabo, and laughed. The disciples nearest him wept, seeing the Universal Sorrow. Others laughed, seeing the Universal Joke. Others wept. Others laughed. Others wept because they couldn't see the Joke, and others laughed lest they should be thought not to see the Joke. But though FRATER laughed openly, he wept secretly; and really he neither laughed nor wept. Nor did he mean what he said.

Sox have actually racked up 10+ hits in 3 straight games for the first time this year. Actually, if you go back since they got dominated by Matt Harvey, who is just excellent, they've got 72 hits in 7 games.

I share your optimism. Maybe this team will start to turn it around. It's hard to believe that they have the same record this year (17-21) as they did last year after the same number of games. The start of this season has been a replay of the last couple of weeks of the 2012 season. Being out of first place by only 5 games isn't that big of a mountain to climb. Hopefully we can still get into the 2013 Playoffs.

Hitting is contagious. Let's hope it spreads and multiplies. Dunn waking up will make PK better, and PK didn't get too old overnight... he'll hit at some point at least for a while. When things are going badly it is easy to believe that it will stay that way. Just like good streaks come to an end, so do bad streaks. When almost an entire team is sputtering at the plate you are going to lose games. If one or two guys start hitting we will win games because we're not giving up that many runs.

I think our defense will improve with Beckham's return and he is clearly more valued by some people already. Also, the defense has been as bad as it can be, I reckon, so the only way is up.

Jones should find his control, shouldn't he? That will be like adding another arm in the pen. Ohmygosho might also gain some needed confidence after a 1-2-3 inning. Starting pitching??... well, just keep it going boys.

The manager taking real, tangible action seems to have helped, at least in the short term.

I know some were fearful of this stretch of 15 out of 18 on the road. Fourteen games in, the Sox have gone 7-7.

The best thing I can say right now is they've managed to hold their ground during a challenging stretch of schedule, sloppy play and all. They are only five games back in a tightly-packed division. It could be a lot worse.

They are only five games back in a tightly-packed division. It could be a lot worse.

It could be a lot worse. But unfortunately they are 5 games back but also in 5th place. So ideally the White Sox are 10-12 games out of first place. So far, the good thing is the AL West is awful so maybe the wildcard will be a possiblity for the central which gives the Sox 2 chances if they turn it around.